The present invention is related to medical imaging, and more particularly to a system and method for positioning an acquisition device and acquiring an image based on image data.
Currently medical X-ray procedures, such as X-ray fluoroscopy, use a high acquisition data rate for X-ray images. The images generated by the X-ray fluoroscopy are then used to manually guide a tool through the internal structure of an opaque body or object (e.g. the human body). Directing this tool, which may be a medical device such as a catheter, through an opaque object is usually quite inefficient and inaccurate since it relies on the operator of the X-ray fluoroscopy device and the X-ray machinery to manually estimate the next position using various types of control techniques developed for this purpose. X-ray fluoroscopy is used for interventional medical procedures such as balloon angioplasty and neuroembolizations. These medical procedures have been extremely successful and widely utilized. Their wide utilization has resulted in X-ray fluoroscopy accounting for over one-half of the diagnostic X-ray dosage. Such wide spread use has, however resulted in documented instances of severe skin injury.
One way to reduce radiation exposure of patients and operators would be to optimize the X-ray image acquisition and filtering techniques used for X-ray fluoroscopy. One such approach uses a combination of lowering the acquisition data rate of the X-ray fluoroscopy and increasing the X-ray image resolution to direct the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery. However, this approach relies on the human operator to manually control the X-ray machinery, which introduces uncertainty.
To-date, there have not been any solutions addressing the uncertainty introduced by an operator manually controlling the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery. Instead, solutions explored in the medical industry have been limited to increasing the efficiency of the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery by increasing the image resolution, or to reducing the radiation exposure for the operator and patient by decreasing the number of noisy images produced by the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery.
What is needed is an X-ray control system, device and method for interactively processing a selection point for an X-ray exposure based on a previous X-ray exposure to improve the productivity and safety of medical X-ray procedures.
According to one aspect of the present invention, an X-ray system and method is described for use in a medical application to supplement or replace fluoroscopy. The X-ray system includes a display device, a gantry having an X-ray generator, a table having an X-ray sensor, and an X-ray control system connected to the display device, the gantry and the table. The X-ray control system includes user input for indicating the position of the next X-ray exposure. The X-ray control system receives X-ray data from the sensor, processes the data to form an X-ray image, displays the X-ray image on the display device and shifts the X-ray generator relative to the X-ray sensor. The amount and direction of shift is accurately determined using data from the previous X-ray image.
According to another aspect of the present invention, a system and method of positioning an X-ray generator relative to the X-ray sensor is described. X-ray data is received from the sensor and processed to form an X-ray image. The X-ray image is displayed on a display device and a position is selected on the X-ray image. The X-ray generator is shifted relative to the X-ray sensor as a function of the position selected on the X-ray image.
According to yet another aspect of the present invention, a system and method for tracking a first object within a second object is described. X-rays are projected through the second object in the vicinity of the first object, captured and used to generate a display image. The display image is displayed. The appearance of the first object is emphasized within the second object, movement of the first object within the second object is detected and relative position of the second object to the X-ray source is changed as a function of movement of the first object before a new display image is captured.
The X-ray control system, device and method utilizes a computing system to determine the next position of the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery based on the information processed from the previous X-ray image, thus decreasing the uncertainty introduced by a operator manually controlling the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery. The location of the next exposure is also more accurate since it is controlled by an X-ray control system. Such an approach contrasts with current X-ray fluoroscopy techniques that rely upon an operator to guide the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery manually. Accurately directing the X-ray fluoroscopy machinery also reduces the radiation exposure for both operators and the patients.